Virginia Tech........ 10 14 3 7 - 34
West Virginia........ 0 14 3 0 - 17
Scoring Summary:
1st Quarter
07:58 VT - Marcus Vick 10 yd run (Pace kick)
01:50 VT - Brandon Pace 35 yd FG
2nd Quarter
10:20 WV - Mike Vallagrana 2 yd pass from Pat White (McAfee kick)
07:42 VT - Jeff King 9 yd pass from Vick (Pace kick)
05:42 WV - Dorrell Jalloh 46 yd pass from White (McAfee kick)
02:16 VT - Eddie Royal 16 yd pass from Vick (Pace kick)
3rd Quarter
09:31 VT - Pace 41 yd FG
03:33 WV - McAfee 21 yd FG
4th Quarter
13:02 VT - Humes 4 yd run (Pace kick)
Morgantown, WV–#3 Virginia Tech rode a strong performance from quarterback Marcus Vick to a 34-17 victory over West Virginia in Morgantown on Saturday. With the win, the Hokies improve to 5-0 overall and 3-0 in the ACC. West Virginia falls to 4-1. This was the last scheduled game in a long rivalry series. The Virginia Tech victory means the Black Diamond Trophy will reside in Blacksburg for years to come.
Vick, already outstanding in his first four games, was even better against the Mountaineers. He completed 15 of 17 passes for 177 yards and two touchdowns. For the first time this season, Vick was able to find some room in the open field to take advantage of his speed. He carried the ball 12 times for 74 yards and added a touchdown on the ground.
The biggest factor in Virginia Tech’s victory over West Virginia was time of possession. The Hokies managed to hold the ball for 37:21, while the Mountaineers only spent 22:39 with the ball. Tech went yet another game without a turnover and recovered two West Virginia fumbles, totally controlling the ball the entire game. Virginia Tech has only one turnover on the season.
To further emphasize how well the Hokies controlled the clock, VT ran 70 plays for a total of 391 offensive yards. West Virginia ran only 48 plays for 253 yards.
Tech was able to run a lot of time off the clock by running the football. The Hokies’ leading rusher was Cedric Humes, who had 22 carries for 79 yards and a touchdown. Mike Imoh had 13 carries for 31 yards. Those aren’t very impressive yards per carry numbers, but VT was efficient in moving the chains. Cedric Humes in particular ran stronger as the game went on. Marcus Vick’s scrambling ability was also important in moving the chains.
Eddie Royal, quiet for the majority of the season, had his best game of the year against West Virginia. Royal caught six passes for 71 yards and hauled in a touchdown reception from Vick. He also had two carries for 20 yards.
The theme for Virginia Tech’s season has been playing disciplined football and not turning the ball over. They were in for a major challenge in those areas heading into hostile Mountaineer Field, but were able to maintain their composure. As noted above, Tech didn’t have any turnovers. They also had just two penalties for ten yards.
The third down battle also went Virginia Tech’s way. West Virginia held a major advantage in third down conversions coming into the game, but in the end it was the Hokies converting 10 of 15 third down attempts.
Recap
The game began as expected, with both defenses getting early stops. West Virginia won the coin toss and elected to receive. After Jared Develli’s kickoff went for a touchback, the Mountaineers promptly responded with a delay of game penalty on first and ten. Any hopes of picking up a first down were ended with James Anderson sacked quarterback Adam Bednarik on third and eight. West Virginia punted to the Hokies, who returned the favor with a three and out of their own.
The first big play of the game came on the first play of West Virginia’s second possession. Pernell Williams took the handoff and Darryl Tapp forced him to fumble, and the Hokie defense recovered at the West Virginia 24. Following four Cedric Humes runs that took Tech to the ten yard line, Vick ran a quarterback draw up the middle for a ten yard touchdown. After the Brandon Pace extra point, Tech led 7-0 with 7:58 left in the first quarter.
West Virginia’s third drive met with no more success than their first two. Xavier Adibi sacked Bednarik on first down, WVU fumbled on second down, but recovered, and Bednarik threw an incompletion on third and ten.
After the WVU punt, the Hokies took over on their own 32 yard line. Tech was able to put a nice drive together, converting on a key third and five early in the drive with a 13 yard pass to Eddie Royal. Vick later connected on a 20 yard pass to Jeff King, but the drive stalled at the WVU 19. Brandon Pace kicked a 35 yard field goal to put Tech up 10-0 with 1:50 remaining in the first quarter.
West Virginia was able to put a touchdown drive together on their next possession. After a short kickoff by Develli, the Mountaineers started at their own 42 yard line. Steve Slaton got WVU going with an 18 yard run on the first play of the drive. West Virginia went on to convert two third downs and a fourth and one on the possession, which ended when backup quarterback Pat White connected with tight end Mike Villagrana on a playaction pass in the corner of the end zone. White was in the game because Adam Bednarik injured his shoulder on a scramble earlier in the drive. White completed the touchdown pass and ran twice for 14 yards during the drive. With 11:20 left in the first half, VT led 10-7.
Not to be outdone, the Tech offense marched right back down the field and put more points on the board. Marcus Vick was a perfect 4-4 on the drive for 58 yards, including a nine yard touchdown pass to Jeff King. The Hokies never faced a third down on the drive. The key play came when Vick hooked up with David Clowney for a 29 yard gain to the WVU 27. The Hokies led 17-7 with 7:42 left in the second quarter.
Billed as a great defensive matchup, it turned into a shootout when Pat White connected with wide receiver Dorrell Jalloh on a 46 yard touchdown pass. Jalloh came open when Tech cornerback Roland Minor jumped the route, hoping to record his third interception of the season. However, Minor missed the interception and Jalloh raced into the end zone untouched for a touchdown. WVU had cut the Tech lead to 17-14 with 5:42 remaining before halftime.
Virginia Tech began their next possession on their own 18 yard line. After three consecutive running plays, two by Mike Imoh and one by Vick, the Hokies were forced to punt. It looked like the momentum was turning in West Virginia’s favor. Fortunately for the Hokies, WVU punt returner Antonio Lewis mishandled the punt and had the ball bounce right off his facemask into the arms of Tech’s D.J. Parker.
With the turnover, the Hokies had the ball at the West Virginia 30 yard line and were ready to strike. On second and ten, Vick scrambled to the WVU 15 yard line. After a one yard loss by Cedric Humes, Vick threaded the needle and connected with Eddie Royal for a 16 yard touchdown pass. The extra point by Pace extended the Tech lead to 24-14 with 2:16 remaining in the first half. That score would stand until halftime.
The Hokies began the third quarter with possession of the football. VT embarked on a 12 play drive that ended with a 41 yard field goal from Brandon Pace. The Tech drive featured a good mix of running and passing and three third down conversions. The field goal made the score 27-14 Hokies with 9:31 remaining in the third quarter.
Despite facing a two possession deficit, West Virginia wasn’t out of the game yet. After converting a third and seven on an 11 yard pass to tailback Jason Colson, Steve Slaton broke off a 44 yard run up the middle to the Tech 22 yard line. The Mountaineers would penetrate as far as the Virginia Tech four yard line, but were forced to settle for a 21 yard field goal by Pat McAfee. With 3:33 remaining in the third quarter, WVU was still hanging around, trailing the Hokies 27-17.
They wouldn’t be hanging around for much longer. Virginia Tech began their next possession on their own 20 yard line. On the first play of the drive, Vick completed an eight yard pass to Eddie Royal. The Hokies would not attempt another pass for the remainder of the drive, a drive that would last a total of ten plays and cover 80 yards. West Virginia was fed a steady diet of Cedric Humes and Vick on the ground. The Hokies were very efficient on the drive, facing only one third down. The drive featured a 23 yard scramble by Vick and a 17 yard run on an end around by Eddie Royal. Humes capped the drive with a four yard touchdown run with 13:02 remaining in the game, making the score 34-17 Virginia Tech. Neither team would score for the remainder of the game.
West Virginia would have two more chances to score, but the Hokie defense would limit them to just one first down on their last two possessions of the game. The Hokies’ offense controlled the ball so well in the second half that West Virginia only had three possessions.
Virginia Tech began their final drive on their own 35 yard line and drove the ball inside the West Virginia 15. Instead of attempting to run up the score, Marcus Vick took a knee and the game ended.
The Hokies survived another critical road game with their victory over the Mountaineers. Tech will face Marshall next Saturday at noon in Lane Stadium. Television coverage will be announced later this week.
STATISTICS
VT WV
---- ----
First downs 23 11
Rushed-yards 53-214 34-150
Passing yards 177 103
Sacked-yards lost 2-5 3-12
Return yards 53 67
Passes 15-17-0 11-14-0
Punts 3-35.7 5-42.6
Fumbles-lost 2-0 3-2
Penalties-yards 2-10 7-55
Time of possession 37:21 22:39
Att: 60,193
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING-Virginia Tech, Humes 22-79, Vick 12-74,
Imoh 13-31, Royal 2-20, Ore 1-10, Bell 1-4, Team 2-(-4).
West Virginia, Slaton 11-90, White 11-44, Gwaltney 5-12,
Williams 1-3, Schmitt 2-2, Colson 1-2, Bednarik 3-(-3).
PASSING-Virginia Tech, Vick 15-17-177-0. West Virginia,
White 9-11-85-2, Bednarik 2-3-18-0.
RECEIVING-Virginia Tech, Royal 6-71, Clowney 3-47,
King 2-29, Harper 2-18, Gilchrist 1-9, Imoh 1-3. West Virginia,
Reynaud 3-21, Slaton 2-12, Myles 2-10, Jalloh 1-46,
Colson 1-11, Villagrana 1-2, Bruce 1-1.
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